Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Initiates Coverage on Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS)

Equities research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price indicates a potential upside of 16.74% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $205.58 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.47. The company has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Watts Water Technologies has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $222.70.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,437,133.04. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 23,584 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,082 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 84,301 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,458,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 30.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 338 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, North Growth Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.9% in the second quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 36,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,515,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.